Behind Castle Gates
by January Marlinquin
Summary: Legends told of a family of beautiful, magical beings trapped inside a castle by a powerful, dark sorcerer. But every legend has its ounce of truth as Honda Tohru is soon about to learn. AU. Yukiru.
1. Prologue: The Devil's Bargain

Disclaimer: Even though I've prayed and hoped, the last time I checked, Yummy Yuki along with all the other characters of Fruits Basket belonged to Natsuki Takaya and Hana to Yume comics. I do not and will never own Fruits Basket.

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August 15, 2004  
  
Behind Castle Gates

Prologue: The Devil's Bargain

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_Tap, tap_.

The resounding echo of two pairs of footsteps were the only sound audible in the empty castle.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The guardian of the Dog asked the slim boy beside him.

The boy did not look up, did not falter, he did not react at all. If not for the slight tightening of his jaws, the boy showed no signs that he heard Shigure speak. But instead of asking his question again, the cunning dog merely waited.

The boy gradually slowed his gaits, eventually coming to a stop. Slowly he raised his silver head and Shigure found himself studied under a pair of intense amethyst eyes. Amethyst eyes too sad to belong to the living, too cynical to belong to the face of a mere 17-year-old.

"Do you doubt my abilities, Shigure?" The question was soft and eerily melodic. Most would have easily overlooked the power and steel that underlies the lyrical beauty of that voice. But Shigure was not most people. He was immune to its beauty as well as its slight compulsion. He did not fall prey to its mesmerizing lilt being how he has heard the baby version of that voice wailing at the top of its lungs before it ever developed its ability to charm and seduce. As for the slight trace of compulsion, no matter how talented a mage the Rat may be, the Dog still has ten years of experience against him.

"Drop the compulsion, Yuki-kun." The Dog gave the Rat one its admonishing glares, "I thought you'd know better than to practice on your elders." Though the glare of reproach immediately lost its effect as the owner gave the recipient of his glare a conspiratorial smile. "Although I have to say, that was some level of magic you pulled there. Have you been secretly practicing again? You are not supposed to even know of compulsion until you can at least conjure the elements and even Hatori-san could not accomplish that until he was twenty."

Yuki merely continued to regard the Dog in his calm, impervious fashion and watched in silence as the grin slowly evaporated from his cousin's face. "Yuki-kun, you're no fun!" Shigure dabbed fake tears from his eyes. "Why, in a few years, you are going to be as cold and dour as Hatori-san!"

The soft sigh was the only sign of exasperation from the cold, unmoving boy beside him.

"How can you even kid in a time like this." The compulsion was gone, but the voice was just as soft and liltingly beautiful. But the undeniable reproach and anger in his voice finally snapped the thin thread of control Shigure held over his own worries and fears.

"Do you think you are the only one who is worrying? Do you think you are the only one who knows the seriousness of this situation?" Shigure relished the look of shock on his cousin's usual emotionless face. "You think you know Akito because you are the last one of us to still stand against him? You think _you_, alone, can defeat the devil when the rest of the Sohma domain has already crumbled under him?"

Shigure stopped in the middle of his rant to get a better control of his emotions. "I know your genius is unparalleled in all of Sohmian history. But Akito, he is beyond logic and reasoning. He is privy to arsenals beyond our defense–"

"–he uses fear and the ugliest essences of human nature to achieve his goal. He can dig up your deepest fear and draw it into your worst nightmares." Shigure narrowed his eyes as his cousin interrupted him only to recontinue his own warnings of Akito's dark powers. "He has the power to twist even the most innocent and beautiful thoughts into streams of hatred and evil. He has the ability to turn the most pure heart into a charred lump of coal."

"None has ever faced him and emerged the victor. His victims are always dead or either end up wishing they were dead. If the devil exists, he would be its reincarnation on earth." Yuki coolly finished his recitation. "Did I miss anything?"

"Yes." A voice equally cold and calm interrupted. "Yes, you did."

Both Dog and Rat turned in surprise to the new voice. A pair of ice-gray eyes returned their gaze.

"You forgot to mention that he has the power to ensnare the Zodiac souls. Since it is the fate of the Zodiac to be enslaved by the possessors of our souls, Akito holds power over us in life and death." The two watched as a sardonic, bitter smile quirked the Dragon's lips. "We will probably belong to the group that wishes they were dead."

"Yuki-kun, you are the only one of the Zodiacs who still has his soul in his own possession. Why do you willingly send yourself into the lion's lair?"

"While I am delighted that you both seem to have such a flattering impression of me," Yuki drawled blandly. "I'd hate to disappoint you. On the contrarily, I did not come here on a suicide mission neither do I intend to gift-wrap my soul as a free gift to Akito so he can finally complete his Zodiac collections."

"So what are you doing here?"

"I want to strike a bargain with Akito."

Shigure practically snorted. "You know, Yuki-kun. For a supposed genius, you're being incredibly stupid."

"I believe I have a bargain that is suitable to both our satisfaction."

Realizing that Shigure was not convincing him, Hatori tried to appeal to logic and common sense, which he knows to be the two factors that Yuki uses to guide every facet of his life. "Akito is not a man who you can trust to uphold his end of a deal. Besides, no one has ever emerged victorious from a personal encounter with him. Even your poker face is useless here, he will be able to see your deepest fear and wish and he _will_ find a way to use them against you."

An awkward silence followed Hatori's speech. And for a moment, he thought he might have gotten through. But Yuki's words soon dispelled him of that belief. "I never said that I will come out of our bargain victorious. Neither did I forget about Akito's special power. In fact, I'm counting on his special power as a factor that will ultimately sway him to my suggestion."

Both men puzzled over Yuki's confusing statement. What the hell did he mean? What did Yuki have to offer to Akito to get his part of the bargain? The Sohma land laid in waste from the decade long war with Akito. Besides, Akito already has most of Sohma domain seeing how he also seized all of the land as well as the soul of each of the eleven Zodiacs he defeated. The only land left was Yuki's but his piece of the Sohma kingdom was by far the smallest, not to mention stripped of any valuable farmlands or treasures. What possibly could Yuki offer?

Both came to the same realization at the same time. Hatori's face became even more rigidly cold as he struggled to contain his apprehension and fear. But Shigure did not bother.

Yuki merely regarded both's dawning comprehension with bitter amusement. "Dammit, Yuki. You're even stupider than we all believed if you think this will work." Shigure muttered in a deliberately patronizing voice as he fought the battle of wills using Yuki's own weapons. "Do you really think that Akito won't be able to see through your childish antics?" He mustered as much condescension and amusement into his words as he can.

Yuki immediately see through Shigure's tactics and to prove that it has not worked, he gave the dog one of his coldest and most condescending smiles. "I know what I am capable of Shigure. Your attempts at dismantling my confidence has been noted and rebuffed." With that, Yuki turned his back on them and started his long walk to the menacing doors before him.

"Yuki."

Yuki swore that no arguments or pleads were going to turn him back. No logical and probably correct reasons of why he should just run would sway him. None of the countless possibilities of all the things that could go wrong will stop him. But that one simple word, full of sadness and remorse. And futility. Made him turn one last time.

"Don't worry, guys." Yuki smiled. It was an unusual smile, devoid of any of Yuki's typical self-mockery or amused annoyance. It was a beautiful smile but a terrifying one. Because in it was something so bleak and hopeless that it chilled both men to the bone. It was his true smile, beautiful and broken and lost. Just like him.

"I will make sure to drive a bargain worthy of my 'genius.'" An amused smile touched his lips as he considered what to say. "I will... what was the saying? I will milk Akito for all he has?"

He wanted to move but found himself nailed to the spot. He knew he was probably subconsciously stalling for time. But even he did not believe himself cold enough to leave everything as it is. He looked at his two cousins for what might be the last time as he reached within himself to try to find a secret source of strength to get him through this ordeal. Or at least through the front doors.

Hatori found himself looking into his cousin's eyes. And for a second, he thought he saw a flicker of fear and regret. But it was the last emotion that terrified him the most. In Yuki's eyes, the eyes of a genius and prodigy whose usual mask was one of cold confidence and iron determination, was a calm resignation. His look belonged to the men cursed with the knowledge of their own defeat before they even began. His look belonged to the men who had already resigned themselves to their fates and chosen their inevitable defeat. There was a strange emptiness to his expression as if someone has robbed Yuki's eyes of all its light and hope. And he seemed incredibly saddened by that realization. But that brief flicker of weakness left as swiftly as they came. And Yuki's momentary lapse of emotion was quickly and expertly replaced by his usual subtle arrogance and amused detachment.

"Now if you will excuse me. I'm ready for my bargain with the devil."

And with those parting words and eyes as cold as frozen snow, he walked toward the gates to hell with the grace of a prince and the impassive courage of a cursed man who knew he had nothing else to lose.


	2. Chapter 1: A Girl, a Legend, and an Esca

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Fruits Basket nor any of its characters.

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September 12, 2004

Behind Castle Gates

Chapter 1: A Girl, a Legend, and an Escape.

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"Mom, can you believe it has already been four days? At this pace, we will be at Grandpa's in no time." A few people stopped on the streets to stare at the girl who was happily talking to herself.

"Now I only have to continue walking west" The girl suddenly stopped as she looked at her shadow in front of her. Isn't her shadow supposed to be behind her since she's facing the setting sun and walking west? Wait ... unless she memorized it wrong and her shadow IS supposed to be in front of her.

Let's see, the sun sets in the west. Tooru furrowed her brows. She was pretty sure that's true. And the sun is setting; she nodded to herself as she looked at the darkening night. So her shadows should be behind her if she was going ... if she was going ... Tooru could feel the cold claws of panic slowly latching on to her as she tries desperately to remember the direction she was going in. Suddenly she stopped in the midst of her rambling thoughts as a worse, much worse realization suddenly came to her.

Has she been walking in the wrong direction for the last three days? The claws of panic have tightened their grasp and are now slowly choking her.

Tooru felt a little uneasy on her feet as her body swayed. Of course, it was only inevitable that she overlook the pebble under her feet in her moment of daze and panic. She fell like a timber. Her fall was as graceful as can be with her wildly waving arms, deranged in their quest for balance but hopelessly unsuccessful as their owner landed on her face.

More people stopped on the streets to look on in fascination as the cheerful, rambling girl suddenly stopped talking to herself. The smile on her face was replaced with an intense look of concentration before that too was replaced with a look of utterly blind panic.

And the panic must have been very blinding indeed because everyone except her noticed the huge rock that she would soon trip over. She must have been deaf also because Tooru continued to dazedly walk on, amazingly oblivious to everyone's shouts of warning.

One of the spectators was an old man. He was the only one to move toward her as the rest of the crowd seemed to be mesmerized by her imprint on the floor. "Are you all right, young miss?"

The young miss lifted her head off the floor. When she saw that the entire city was watching her, her mortification was evident even below her dirt-covered face.

"If you'd like, my home is just around the corners. I can get you a pail of water to clean you up a bit."

"Thank you, thank you." Tooru gave him several grateful bows.

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"So are you a traveler, Tohru-kun?"

Tooru nodded. She smiled gratefully at Hashi-san, the kind, old man who has offered her the convenience of his well and bathtub along with a nice cup of tea.

"Where are you traveling to?"  
  
"I've been searching for Eri. It is the village where the rest of my relatives liv-"She stopped at the expression on Hashi-san's face.

"Eri? But that's all the way on the other side of Mt. Fukarian. You unlucky girl! Out of all the villages in the kingdom that you could been lost in, this one is the farthest from Eri."

Tooru's smile froze on her face. Her suspicions was right, she HAS been traveling in the wrong directions. "Anou ... Hashi-san, can you tell me how to get there?"

"I'm afraid you would have to circle around the Enchanted Forest to get to Mt. Fukarian. But then Eri is on the other side of Fukarian so that will take a while" Hashi-san drifted off into his own random train of thought.

Tooru waited patiently but old age seemed to have pull Hashi-san into his own little world. "Hashi-san? Anou ... how long will it take for me to get there?"

Tooru's voice jolted the old man out of his thoughts. "Sorry, dear girl, what were we talking about? Oh yes ... the time ... it's a quarter to five. Oh wait, you want the time it takes to get there ... the forest is rather large so you'll have to go through several villages and then you'll have to climb to the other side of Mt. Fukarian"

"So overall, it will probably be two to three weeks." Hashi-san stopped when he saw Tooru collapse to the floor.

"Is there ... is there a shorter way? What if ... what if I go through the forest-"The answer to that was a very loud and vehement "NO!"

"You must _never_ go through the Cursed Forest!"

"Cursed?"

The old man sighed. "Its actual name is the Enchanted Forest but it's probably more cursed than it was ever enchanted."

"How is your history, Tooru-kun?" All he got for an answer was a rather blank look. "Does the name Sohma ring any bell?"

Tooru could only shake her head bewilderedly.

"Why don't you sit down, Tooru-kun. I'm going to tell you a littleâ€ I'm going to tell you a story. It might be somewhat long so why don't you grab that seat over there." With that, Tooru obediently carried the seat over along with some tea for Hashi-san in case he gets thirsty in the midst of his story-telling.

"Did you know that our kingdom wasn't always like this?" Hashi-san smiled but it was a somewhat wistful smile. "It was not always filled with famine and wars. Do you know that hundreds of years ago, women and children used to walk out alone at night without fears of being robbed or killed? The men were happy fathers and husbands who stayed at home with their families; they weren't always called away for the endless strings of sectional strife and wars."

"Yes, it was a beautiful time hundreds of years ago, a time of great peace and beauty and magic. It was believed that the prosperity of our land was held together by the balance created by the various spirits of nature. There were many spirits but the most powerful ones took the form of the twelve animals of the zodiacs."

"During those times, it was also believed that some people who were gifted with great spiritual power had the abilities to cast spells, perform magic, and even communicate with these spirits of nature."

"Before there were legends and stories, everyone knew of the one family of particularly powerful magicians who were not only able to do all of those things, it was also said that they possessed the power to control the Zodiacs. And their mastery over the Zodiacs and other spirits of nature brought to the kingdom an era of great prosperity and peace."

"So as long as people could remember, that family, the Sohmas, was deemed as the royal family in everyone's eyes."

"But in the thirteenth dynasty of the Sohma Prosperity, another powerful sorcerer who was famed to be even more powerful than the royal family, called together an army of rebels, criminals, and mages who have all resented the Sohmas for either one reason or another."

"The sorcerer, Akito, was said to lead a dark army of such destructible might that not even the mighty, all-powerful Sohmas could defeat. And for the first time since the beginning of the Sohma reign thirteen generations ago, the peace of the kingdom was shattered and the people fell to a series of war and famine that we never really recovered from."

"Slowly, Akito's army overtook the land. All of the other domains of the royal family fell until all except one of the Zodaic guardians has been defeated and captured by Akito. All except the guardian of the Rat."

"It was said that Yuki, the guardian of the Rat, was remarkably intelligent, ethereally beautiful, and quite young too. The guardians of the Zodiac spirits are often powerful magical beings who are revered by everyone. However most do not dabble with the politics of keeping a kingdom together, neither do they play a big part in the military leadership. So imagine the shock of most people when Yuki was revealed to be the mastermind behind the military planning that held back Akito's mighty army."

"But the final battle came down to a private meeting between Yuki and Akito. Both agreed to a temporary truce for the duration of the meeting, which was to take place at Akito's castle."

"But no one really knew what happened in there. Akito, Yuki, and both sides' army were present near the castle during the time of the meeting. But days became weeks and weeks soon became months, yet still no news ever reached the outside world."

"There were wild theories flying in every town and village of the kingdom speculating as to what might have happened. Some thought that Akito finally succeeded in his plan to defeat the royal family. After all, it was no secret that he hated the Sohmas and particularly the Guardian of the Rat, maybe because Yuki was the only member of the royal family that Akito has yet to conquer. But some said that even before the other eleven Zodaics fell, Yuki was already the focus of Akito's most vehement hatred. But no one really knew the reason why."

"Another common and more romantic theory was that Yuki summoned all of his power in a last attempt to keep the promise of the royal family to protect the kingdom by defeating Akito. He succeeded in defeating Akito but he lost his life in the process."

"There were many other theories but no one ever knew for sure what really happened. So men were sent out to the forest of Akito's castle to find out and many strange incidents started to occur. But one way or the other, the results were always the same; whoever went into that forest never came out of it again."

"The Enchanted Forest which borders this village, the forest which I'm warning you never to enter is the same forest which supposedly contained Akito's Castle of ages ago, the forest in which numerous men went in and was never seen again."

The old man stopped. He suspected he more than got the point cross seeing the petrified expression on Tooru's face. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Tohru-kun, but this is not a light warning. The forest is dangerous."

"No, no, I'm grateful. It is very kind of you to spend so much time telling me the history of the Enchanted Forest. Thank you, thank you so much. Your warnings will be most helpful when I leave for Eri." With that, Tooru stood up and bowed to Hashi-san.

"Are you leaving already? It will be dark soon. Even though Kawari is one of the safest and most peaceful villages on this side of Mt. Fukarian, it becomes like every other war-ridden, incontrollable city at night."

"Despite the disappearance of Akito and his dark army, our kingdom never recovered." Hashi-san sighed as if remembering something bad. "The land stricken with strife and chaos became a breeding ground for criminals, dark sorcerers, and all other kinds of evil people because there was no one to stop them. In the end, the whole kingdom just fell apart without a strong leader to unify it. And eventually the once peaceful kingdom became the world that we inhabited today; the days became the battleground between cities and regions that were all once part of the same kingdom and the nights became the hunting ground for villains and cowards who are better able to conceal their crimes in the dark."

"So if you'd like, you're more than welcome to stay at my humble hut for the night. It is not safe for a pretty, young woman like you to be alone out there at night."

"No, no, I can't possibly-"

Hashi-san's face drooped. "Of course, I understand, my house is so small and always looking like it's on the verge of collapse-"

Tooru's face immediately heated up in panic. "NO! No, you have already been so kind, I can't possibly impose on you any longer. It's not dark yet so if I hurry, I can reach the small inn I passed this morning."

Hashi-san smiled having already forgotten what he was so upset about. "Just be safe. Make sure you get there before dark. And whatever you do, do not enter the Enchanted Forest."

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Hashi-san was right, Tooru was more than a little scared after his story. While most people would have scoffed at mentions of magic and sorcery and put off Hashi-san's story as a very depressing fairy tale or the lunatic hallucinations of a crazy old man, Tooru ... well, Tooru wasn't most people and she took Hashi-san's warnings very seriously to heart. In fact, Tooru took everything that everyone says seriously to heart, regardless of the likeability of them happening in the real world.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tooru can see the large mass of green which are the trees of the Enchanted Forest. At the mere thought of its name, Tooru felt another chill creep up her spine and she soon find herself hurrying her steps. After all, she just wants to get to the inn before it gets dark. It's not safe to be out alone in the dark. Robbers, killers, and all other manners of criminals roam the streets at night in all corners of the kingdom. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is trying to get as far away from the forest as possible, or so she keeps telling herself.

After an hour of very fast pacing, even Tooru's steely determination lost some of its steam. The inn should not be far now but no matter where she walked, she could not escape the Enchanted Forest. It is a rather large forest after all and it lies on the outskirts of almost all the towns and villages on this side of the kingdom.

Seeing how she was almost at her goal, Tooru finally allowed herself a quick glance at the forest. But what she saw took her breath away.

The Enchanted Forest looks just like every other forest. But there is a certain aura that emanates from it; a beautiful, unearthly aura. It doesn't seem like something that belongs to this world and time. Its gently scented balm and soothing, cool air reminded Tooru of a drawing she once saw of the beautiful and mythical land of the past, before wars, fires, and other tragedies and disasters destroyed all its previous traces of beauty.

But despite Hashi-san's warnings, Tooru could not help but be drawn to the Enchanted Forest. Before she knew it, she was standing at its borders. She could not shake the feeling that there is something calling her from deep within; something beautiful and sad and beyond this world.

Tooru was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she did not notice the dark, lithe creature that jumped out of the forest floor until she felt some soft and furry slithering against her legs.

She stood there, completely frozen for a few seconds afraid to look down while every terrifying visions of what creature it possibly could be flashed through her mind. She gripped the backpack of her only personal belongings, opened her tightly shut eyes, and swung it down for all she was worth on a ... on a ... on a cat? A CAT!? She barely stopped herself from crushing the poor animal in time.

"Hi there, Kitty-san!" Tooru kneeled down and held the cat in her arms. "What were you doing all alone inside the Enchanted Forest?" The cat stared at her curiously, marveling at the strange human who was trying to talk to it.

Tooru's fingers glided over its silky hair and the cat purred at her soft touch. "You have such beautiful fur." Her eyes darkened with sadness. "I wish I can bring you along with me. I bet my journey won't seem as long and lonely with you by my side."

The cat suddenly hissed and jumped from her laps. "Wait, don't go yet!" She turned and tried to give chase when she suddenly realized that she was no longer alone.

"Look what stumbled unto our hands tonight?" Came a sneering, crude voice. Standing a few feet away from Tooru was the largest man that she has ever seen. With him were several other man who was just as big who were all wearing strange, dark clothing with the sign of a red skull.

Red skull? Tooru's eyes widened at the realization of who they are. The man who spoke, who looks like the leader of the group, smirked at her dawning comprehension. "Looks like the little lady already knows who we are."

The Hands of Red Death was a group of criminals who were infamous throughout the region for the horrors they commit. They only pray on weak, defenseless villages whose men are all away at war; robbing and pillaging every hut and house before setting fire to them all. They were identified by their strange attire which is always emblazoned with the sign of a red skull.

Tooru watched in horror as the leader slowly walked toward her. She wanted to run but her legs seemed to be frozen under her. She looked everywhere, hoping that someone, anyone would be in sight.

The leader saw her wandering, hopeful looks and laughed. "Sorry, little lady, there's no one here to save you. We checked" Tooru shrank back at the way he eyed her. He laughed even more at her sign of fear. "Men! Look like we will have ourselves a little appetizer before we raid the village tonight." Every warning and horrifying story she has ever heard about this group suddenly all rushed back to her. She remembered the horrible, unspeakable things they did to all the women and little girls in the villages. The ones that they killed after

Tooru desperately sought for an escape route. But she has just noticed that all the men have fanned out, as if anticipating her escape. They surrounded her from everywhere and with her back to the Enchanted Forest and all her other escapes blocked off, they knew she was cornered.

The leader slowly sauntered toward her. Tooru was shaking so hard that she felt she would collapse at any moment. Her heart pounded with every step that he took, growing louder and louder as he came nearer and nearer.

He stood right in front of her. His hand reached up and she winced, expecting a strike. But instead he slowly stroked her face, his hands tracing the contours of jaw and neck. She tried to control her instinct to shirking away. Her heart was beating so hard that she was starting to hear the blood rushing into her head.

His face broke into a malevolent leer. "If you are a nice little girl," he whispered into her face, his breath stank with the rancid odor of liquor, "we might make it good for you." Perhaps it was those words or perhaps it was all that blood in her head, but whatever it was, it made Tooru do something that she never thought she could do, let alone at this present time and situation.

She abruptly pulled up her right knee and the loud groan of pain told her that she had found her mark. Then with all the strength she possessed, she shoved the him as far away from her as she could.

And to her credit, Tooru only stood motionless for a bare fraction of a second before she ran like hell in the only direction that she could, toward the Enchanted Forest.

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A/N: Wow, this is my first author's note. I feel so excited. Anyway, thank you for all the people who reviewed the prologue and sorry for the one month wait. You'd figure since it's summer, I would write faster ... Oh speaking of which, for the people who are satisfied with this chapter, thank RJunkie and Ina who bribed, coerced, blackmailed, cajoled me into finishing it. And for the people who did not like it, you can blame them also. Kidding, kidding, my complete ineptitude with the English language and lack of talent (writing and otherwise ...) are purely my fault, no need to go after them. But I do have to say, it's nice when others share you misery.  



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